Granny Charging

[johnb80]

I’m currently away on holiday in Wales. In preparation I tried granny charging via a good quality 10 metre extension lead. The lead was the thickest I could find commercially available but was only 1.5 mm2. After 8 hours of charging at 1.8 kW (max), the lead was warm and the plug and socket at either end. Definitely safe enough but I didn’t like it.
I made up an extension lead with 2.5 mm2 arctic cable with a rubber plug and single socket.
Granny charging with this lead gave a higher rate of charge on the same granny charger, no heating of the cable / plugs / sockets. Many 13 amp plugs have a max cable size of 1.5 mm2, I drilled mine out for the 2.5 mm2 flex, all worked out really well

 

[MG Clive]

Thanks for the tip @johnb80.

 

[salty]

Would this cable be ok for a Granny Charger or extension.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Would this cable be ok for a Granny Charger or extension.

View attachment 38136

Its a bit short....

 

[Archev]

Would this cable be ok for a Granny Charger or extension.

View attachment 38136

Perfect but make sure you’re chosen Granny has the biceps of a Gorilla

 

[EvTek23]

For those not able to DIY a decent extension cable, I bought this from:

Industrial Extension Leads ltd

We specialise in the full range of trailing heavy duty extension leads, from high quality 13amp extension leads to 63amp leads used in heavy industry.

www.industrialextensionleads.co.uk

The cable is H07RN-F 2.5 mm sq rubberised cable, available with or without RCD

 

[johnb80]

Would this cable be ok for a Granny Charger or extension.

View attachment 38136

Only if a substantial amount of it is coiled on a drum and the appropriate fuse is fitted to the plug.

 

[johnb80]

For those not able to DIY a decent extension cable, I bought this from:

Industrial Extension Leads ltd

We specialise in the full range of trailing heavy duty extension leads, from high quality 13amp extension leads to 63amp leads used in heavy industry.

www.industrialextensionleads.co.uk

The cable is H07RN-F 2.5 mm sq rubberised cable, available with or without RCDView attachment 38138

Mine cost me less than £25 to make, there’s a healthy markup here!

 

[Everest]

I made up an extension lead with 2.5 mm2 arctic cable with a rubber plug and single socket.
Granny charging with this lead gave a higher rate of charge on the same granny charger, no heating of the cable / plugs / sockets. Many 13 amp plugs have a max cable size of 1.5 mm2, I drilled mine out for the 2.5 mm2 flex, all worked out really well

we did almost the same to extend our 'granny charger' (as in 2.5mm2 arctic cable, albeit with a command socket on the other end). FWIW, this 'heavy-duty' BS1363 plug accepts 2.5mm2 arctic cable without any modification...

Permaplug 13A 3 Pin Heavy Duty Tough Plug - Black | BG (HDPT13B-01)

 

[johnb80]

we did almost the same to extend our 'granny charger' (as in 2.5mm2 arctic cable, albeit with a command socket on the other end). FWIW, this 'heavy-duty' BS1363 plug accepts 2.5mm2 arctic cable without any modification...

Permaplug 13A 3 Pin Heavy Duty Tough Plug - Black | BG (HDPT13B-01)

I used arctic cable too(from my caravanning days), really good cable, stays nice and flexible.
Thanks for the link to the plug, the one I modded is working fine without issue but if I need another lead I’ll head on over to TLC.

J